FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AG
TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 1996 (202) 616-2765
TDD (202) 514-1888
UNITED STATES RETURNS SACRED LAND TO INDIANS
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Land the federal government seized from
a California marijuana grower has been transferred to Indians who
assert the site is the sacred center of their spiritual universe,
the Department of Justice said today.
The four-acre parcel in remote Siskiyou County, California,
has been returned to the Karuk Tribe under an agreement between
the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs will hold the land in trust for the
tribe.
The Karuk said the property was located squarely in the
center of the ancient Karuk village of Katimin, which is
considered the physical and spiritual center of the universe for
the Karuk people.
The land was seized by the United States under the asset
forfeiture laws from Bradley Throgmorton, the owner of a fishing
lodge along the Klamath River. In the off-season, Throgmorton
allegedly cultivated marijuana seedlings he later transplanted in
the adjacent Klamath National Forest. The Siskiyou County
District Attorney's office convicted Throgmorton on weapons
charges. The U.S. obtained title to the land on July 27, 1993.
The Karuk, who lacked resources to buy the land, asked the
BIA on October 15, 1993, to transfer the property to the tribe.
The Department's forfeiture policy encourages the transfer of
federally-forfeited property to further the agency's mission.
According to Karuk oral history, "Katimin was the home of
powerful Immortals whose warlike activities gave Katimin and its
surroundings strong medicines against enemies. Besides fierce
Duck Hawk and his jealous and vengeful wife, Grizzly Woman, there
were Scabby Old Man and the Savage Winged One who both performed
heroic deeds. Less heroic Immortals who lived at Katimin or
visited include Turtle, Coyote, Skunk, Meadow Mouse, the Mice
Girls, Nighthawk, Poorwill, Mole, Old Widow, Mink and Pacific
Salmon."
The Karuk are a federally-recognized native tribe of
California. The property is in northwest California near the
border between California and Oregon.
"I'm very excited about this transfer," said Attorney
General Janet Reno. "Land once used by a criminal who flaunted
the law will be returned to those native peoples who hold it
sacred. This agreement benefits not only the Karuk but all
Indian peoples in the Klamath River basin."
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